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GRAM MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



1)ELI\ KKKI) AT LANCASTKli. ()., AUCiUST 8lh. 1885. 
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i;V JI'lXiK SILAS II. WKKIIII', 



WluMi :i <:reat man dies tlio 
whole workl sudors Idss. Our 
coiinhy, tenilonally enibraeinji 
all climates and exlendin*; Crom 
sea lo sea, is to day as a siiiirle 
stale, as a county, a township, a 
precinct. Tlie distinction of lines 
is lost. The eminence ol' ca|)it,al.-i 
is leveled. The i)oor and the 
rich this day stand upon common 
•:round. The distinguished and 
the unknown strike hands, and 
festoon the porticos (»f palaces 
and the porcljes of cotta^zes with 
hadiies of mourninj:. All the 
hlack si nils of commerce are in 
reqiiisilion. There are more 
«larkene<l doors to-day than ever 
liefore opened in the land. A late 
President of the IJiiiled SUitts 
no lon«:er lives. To have been 
President of our Sinles is glory 
enough lor all lime. A crown in 
England or Fi;iiice or liii?sia or 
Austiia is as pewler lo silver, as 
asbestos to clear gold. These 
great Slates, every one of them 
lit for Empires for the highest 
sovereignly. To be Governor of 
a Stale, what imperial power, 
what delegation of authorily, 



what surrender of strength antl 
voice on the part of the people. 
And to 1)0 President of all the 
Sliites, so increasing in numl.er, 
as that one can hardly ket-p 
count; State.s so rich, so wide- 
spread, so free, so unconquera- 
ble, so loyal, so of^one mind, 
such a unit as lo principles and 
purposes, is a sort of gerency 
that makes us wonder that one 
mail can .'o get the start of this 
great globe as to be so honored 
and so trusted. It is compara- 
tively easy to be a King. That 
relaticm is usually ignoble and 
heredilMi\'. Small heads and in- 
(irin hands may wear the crown 
and wield the sceptre. Some 
line horseman, some adept rob- 
ber, some skillful cut throat is 
father and godfatherof most that 
wear the purple. The hour is 
comiiiir, it even now strikes, when 
the world's ninllilude will iramp 
out all the traditions of royally 
and tear up all the parchments 
that give license lo the great 
to lord it over his weak- 
er but better brother. The sci- 
ence of majorities is only ol"mod 



i 




ern jrrowth. It works in stale 
and nation. It is the ruling spirit 
of township and ward. Its sacred 
seat is the ballot box. The strip 
of white paper IS an arrow that 
strikes the center. It is an army 
with banners. It is the flower 
and spirit of some old Eden that 
came near bein*:; forgotten. I^et 
the countries and comiriuniUes 
of the world print (heir opinions, 
let them be counted, and sweet 
peace and security will have uni- 
versal empire. Men will light 
and ought to fight without cessa- 
tion for rights that are natural 
and inalienable. We may well 
congratulate ourselves that we 
have so wide and ri-h a garden 
in which to plant and perpetuate 
the seeds of liberty and free gov- 
ernment. It is all ours between 
the two oceans. The lar East is 
rushing to us as to a vacuum. — 
The worn, out and efl'ote come 
liere lor recuperation ; tiieyoung 
and manly and unsubjugatea 
come here to work out fortunes 
and register an eternal protest 
against stolen property and pow- 
er usurped. From many, one— 
this is our strength, our safety, 
the promise and pledge of iin-- 
jimited expansion. Let the town- 
ships behave well and conserve 
their autonomy; let the counties 
do the like and the Statesalso; 
then the continent, and the whole 
world indeed, may come into our 
compact and be made iiomoge 
nous and fraternal 



So close are the nations now 
that the American from some 
ridge of the Ixockies or the Alle- 
ghenies can almost throw a stone 
into the Mediterranean or ruffle 
the waters of the Black Sea or 
the Caspian. There is about to 
be recognized a brotherhood 
among the sons of men. Size 
and color, and strength and pa- 
rentage mark no distinctions as 
in old days. They are ol)solete; 
These conditions and proclivities 
work wonders among men. A 
new race in fact seems to spring 
from new gardens. Is 1 here any- 
where in the world such an an- 
thology as VVasiiington, Jetler- 
son, Calhoun, Webster, Jackson, 
Lincoln, and Grant, Sherman, 
Lee and the "Stonewall" — that 
other Jackson. The worlds lim- 
its, sincj history commenced its 
account of things has no such ar- 
ray of names as these. It were 
honor enough for this age if men 
were henceforth to fail, and oiily 
pigmies were to be the product 
of the years. What similitudes 
and differences ran through the 
warp and woof of these men. — 
And they are all dead but one. 
Grant to-day will be placed out 
of the sight of men. A funeral 
! procession sti'etches across the 
! continent. Pall bearers come 
j from the Confederacy. Joe 
1 Johnston comes craped from dis- 
I tant Oregon, and Buckner Irom 
'the blue grass. Cannons began 



&: 



(n hooin (his inoniitiii; early, (hoy 
will disdirb the air all d.iy. — 
Carriages aii'i horses ami Hags 
and gathered multitudes oC ])oo- 
ple will this day declare aiul tes- 
tily a mighty woe. 

'{'ears may l)e the solace of 
])riva(e au<l intimate life, of kin- 
ship and relation ; l)ut there is a 
grief above and 'oeyond (ears. — 
When (ho Republic wails, there 
is a serrow (hat settles over us 
like an a(mospliere. It pervades 
gi'eat <-ittes, it comes to waste 
places, it creeps into cabins, it | 
sweeps (he savannas, it envel- | 
opes mountains, it gels into cars, 
and is carried in carts, (irantj 
living, would be distressed withj 
all tiiis. He was nuide of metal , 
little fit for tintinabulation. He: 
once came to our western shores j 
from afar. A proud rich city did . 
him reverence. It arrayed itsell'| 
in purple. It flooded its streets 
with gold. Hurrahs and hosan- | 
nas assaulted lie blue. Knough [ 
canvas floated in the air to cover 
(he equator in all of its vast cir- | 
<-nmference. It pleased Inm not, 
l)ut he submitted. The smoke of 
his cigar was of gi(>aler conse- 
(pienci', oi' higher Iclicil ation. I 
am not far enough removed Irom 
(Jrant to understand him. He 
never well understood himself. — 
He was uni(iue without "knowing 
it. There wa.s something like 
gravitation about him that does 
its voiceless but inevitable work. 



The great man is a still man. 

He mouths it no(. 'J"he concpieror 
of (he turf comes to the scratch 
temperate and composed. 1( is 
he who surprises the second hand 
of chronometers or makes i( sJand 
still lor the accomplishuii-nt of 
exploits fit lor history. "I will 
fight it out oii ihis line if it takes 
all summer." This sountls like a 
repeater, a four mi er, a race 
horse ol" battles. There is no 
sounding brass in (his, no tink- 
ling cymbals. It looks like a 
theorem nearly demonstrate'' in 
advance. It smacks of West 
Point and Scotland. Jt is wes(- 
ern and inoves like the Missis- 
sippi. The mighty line passed 
from lip to lip all over the land. 
The Rebels, if 1 may call them 
such, at least our much erring 
and mistaken brethien across (he 
river, felt cold ^steel enter their 
bosoms at the point of these 
wortls. They have gone into a 
proverb and sound to the ear as 
fathered l)y old cendiries. Uur 
language would have been inef- 
fectual wiljiout (hem. They are 
a resource and support when all 
other phrases fail. They are 
counseling and consolilory in 
stringent times. They come to 
us in dreams. They animate us 
in despair. They capitalize our 
energies and lilt us cil)ove our- 
selves. We can bank our weak- 
ness on these W(^rds. Tin.e has 
taken hold of (hem and willed 



llieni as subslanlial property to 
eternity. Tjie i'aniier quotes 
them in reference to weeds and 
crops. The covv-bov calls them 
to his cattle. They siiorlen the 
way of the wanderer. They prop 
tiie pioneer. They swim with 
ships the wide ocean. 'J'hey 
(•f,me to the keels of canal boats 
to er.courage their captains.- - 
They go afoot, on horseback, 
every way and every wiiere. — 
These words are incapable of 
<lealh. They stand together in 
beautiful brotherhood. They il- 
lustrate a iireat idea. They voice 
the will of a <;reat nation. Can- 
nons boom in them, svvord>< jileam 
m them, elections approve them, 
I'residents sprout froni theiri. 

GianL has been called the 
sphynx, so voiceless was he. He 
might, but for a f nv phrases, have 
been born speechless. He could 
have done his appointed tasks by 
a motion of his hand. His fingers 
could have declared the line of 
march for armies and the awful 
moment of onset. A lew pages 
will embrace his dispatches. A 
Jew columns of a small book will 
record his addresses. Volumes 
will be given to his acts. He 
was, I think, the most impassa- 
ble, impervious and impenetra- 
ble man that ever lived. He was 
insensible to danger. H" ever the 
earth had opened at his feet, and 
yawned to its red and firey cer.- 
tei-, he would have stood compos- 
ed ;;nd complacent and ti])ped 



his cap to destruction. He may 
not have been a very tender man 
— he was too matiiematical lor 
that. The science of compara- 
tive columns he understood to 
perfection. Numbers were his 
weapons. He put men into the 
breech as it they were marbles 
or billiard balls. He knew that 
the true soldier enlisted to die, 
not to live; and he put him ac- 
cordingly. A mown swath of 
men touch.ed him only remotely; 
his mind was made up for that; 
but a blistered shoulder, a frac- 
tured limb encountered unex- 
pectedly, moved him as deeply 
as the tenderest and most sym- 
patiietic. His profession made 
him a. soldier ; but for that and 
the times th:it called for him, he 
would have gravitated to the til- 
lage of the lields. How a herd 
of grazing cattle or colts, with 
subdued heads would have cap- 
tured his fancy. The strong, fleet, 
but not over last horse had the 
benediction of his eyes. He 
would have fed his Berkshire 
pigs with as niucii composure and 
pride as to approve some parch- 
ment of Congress. PIis big oxen 
laboring with a load of wood 
would have brought inexpress- 
iible salisjaction. I know nor, 
whether it is so, but 1 guess, that 
complicated machinery and great 
engines must liave been the (ien- 
eraTs delight. I suspect that he 
was an inventor, though tl e Pat- 
ent rolls mav not be graced with 



his name. His keen sense of fa- 
vors bestowed, disarmed him of 
suspicion and sometimes tinctur- 
ed or twisted his judgment. He 
stopped not much to enquire of 
motive. The act. if on its face 
and forehead, was generous, tliere 
was no underpeeping to find 
fraud. 1 think the General might 
easily have been cheated in a 
horse trade, especially ''sight un- 
seen." He never cared to be our 
President. He had not consider- 
ed or respected politics or politi- 
ci{ ns. 8ome small office would 
have pleased him as much as the 
Presidency. He would have 
served a writ of restitution to a 
small property with the like feel 
ing as setting his name to a veto. 
It alarmed him when called to a 
second term. He despised the 
conspiracy that attempted to lug 
him into the third. 

Grant esteemed it a kindness 
to be defeated. He thought well 
of the American people on that 
account. The American people 
thought well of themselves on 
that account. There was unan- 
imity and concordance in that 
behalf. If any man since Wash- 
ington deserved three terms it 
was Grant. He would not, could 
not have harmed the country. — 
Our country has immunity from 
injury. No single administra- 
tion, iiowever bad, or many bad 
administrations cannot mar us. 
We have bone and sinew and re- 
cuperative energies almost in- 



calculable. Let pride rear i's 
snaky head, let faction assail us, 
let ambition plan in secret places, 
the brave men of the plains and 
the Hiliicans, as they are called, 
will come to a rescue. We all 
stick to our parties ; organization 
and colaboration :ire natural and 
pleasing to man. U all work for 
tiie best, the end will come in al- 
ternations and in periods. No 
one man is better than all other 
men. No one party in this part 
of the world has a signature for 
unlimited succession. 'I'here is 
no patent for perpetuity except 
honesty and decency, and they 
both are fond ot shift and change. 
They like new residences. Bad 
odors come from long tenancy. — 
Th'j ash bins must be cleaned ; 
lime must be sprinkled t even 
blood must be let at times. But 
human blood is a precious thing. 
Its globules are more than gold- 
en. It is entitled to its full span. 
It has a right to run the rounds 
ot the heart for three score years 
and ten. But in some strange 
way, by some mystery beyond 
man's ken, deatli seems to be the 
way to life. Grant's death is 
somewhat more pronounced and 
vicarious than even Lincoln's. — 
Lincoln had to die the death he 
did to make the South sorrowful, 
to make the North a unit. 'I'here 
was perhaps no need of Gar- 
field's sacrifice ; yet it went far 
to drape all doors with a common 
symbol of sadness. A crazy tool. 



an irresponsible mndinan sliot 
liini. God may have pulled the 
trijijrer behind Gitteau's back. — 
Old John Brown's head was 
shaped a;,d furnished somewhat 
as his. But Brown's soul is march- 
ing on. The weak things con- 
iound the strong. P'ord's theatre 
will be a shrine for pilgrims 
north and south; the bloody spot 
in the Baltimore depot at Wash- 
ington will take the eye of the 
moving, traveling world, and 
Mt. Gregor will be resplendent 
with light and love as long as j 
our flag floats or a State lias a 
written Constitution. ' 

! 

I would not be hypercritical, | 
scarcely even critical as to the! 
spot in which our dead leader's ^ 
bones are to rest. It matters lit- 1 
lie where any human dust is laid, i 
The wild trump of the last day i 
will collect it, however widely 
dispersed. The tenement that is 
fit for ihe soul must abide and 
last as the soul. To be buried in 
tlie sea is doubtless a sweet en- 
tombment — tiie clear waters 
scouring and whitening flesh and 
bones. But who can find the 
body ? Where shall friends go to 
pray? To be lost in space, to be 
intangible, to be unapproachable, 
solitary, is full of discomfort. — 
"Even in onr ashes live their 
wonted flres." Graves are hud- 
dled together, not for want of 
space, not to save expense, but 
on account of a sentiment of 
neighborhood and society. 



Single burials will never com- 
mand (he suff'rages of the living; 
The dead are more urban than 
the living. They quarrol not; 
the soul iscitizen and the body 
serene — 

"And there while so quietly lying it fan- 
cies 
A holier odor, about it o( pansies — 
A rosrmary odor commingled witli pansies. 
With rue and the beautiiul Puritan pan- 
sies." 

I will not undertake to impress 
my sentiments at this late day upon 
the public. I never have tried too, 
and could not it I would. But it 
lias come to my mind these tew 
nights past that as Grant went to 
the war from Illinois, as his career 
commenced there, and as Lincoln, 
that superb hunianitsirian and im- 
partial statesmen rests at Spring- 
field, that Grant ought in the eter- 
nal iitness of things, find repose 
close by his side. P^aihng in tiiis, 
I proteiit against all Parks; River- 
side or Central has no claim to such 
sacred dust. West Point (las some 
right to ask for him. He was it « 
son. Perpetuity clings to its soil 
and rocks. One great soldier 
would have dignified all tofts and 
crofts forever. But West Point as- 
ide and Springfield not having been 
selected, my hand and my heart are 
for the place ot his birth — Point 
Pleasant, down in glorious old Cler- 
mont of our incomparable Stale of 
Ohio, Under the chimney of the 
cabin in which he was born he 
ought to have been hurried. The 
Ohio can sing as good a requiem as 
the Hudson. A son of Ohio ought 



to reht in ilssoil. As some one in 
the Brooklyn Enge says : "JNIount 
Vernon and Washington are not dif 
ferent terms to the mind. The 
place and the man are complemen 
tary. The home and its founder 
reciprocaily suggest one and the oth- 
er. The Mount is as calm and be- 
nignant as the character of him who 
lived on it and whose body its bos- 
om encloses. * * * *^o too 
where Abraham Jiincoln lived is 
Abraham Lincoln hurried. * * 
* And the other free son of the 
Weston whom the fate of faction 
fell out of the blue, died on the 
threshold of great designs for his 
country, to be laid in Lalco View 
by the waters which reflected to his 
young eyes and murmured to his 



young mind the story of all noble 
doings =*= ='= In llie same spirit 
of local selection, Quincy holdH 
the remains of tho Adamses, men as 
granite in their character, as the 
produce of her querries. Monticel- 
lo which rejoiced Jefferson in life 
claimed liim in death." This day, 
this 8th of August will remain mem- 
orable forever. The bells of cities 
and of hamlets have been clanging 
since the dawn. The Great 
General goes to rest. He only pro- 
ceds others by a .short date. Reb- 
el and loyalist will all soon settle 
their contentions and quarrels — 
There is an Appomatto.x above as 
well as here below. "LET US 
HAVE PEACE." 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 789 084 



